Ashley Graham looks amazing while posing nude for ‘V’ magazine in a shoot that celebrates her curves and imperfections. Inside, she opens up about body confidence and how she learned to accept her cellulite.

We’re used to seeing Ashley Graham, 29, suit up in everything from bikinis to lingerie, but her latest shoot just might be her sexiest yet as she can be seen wearing nothing more than stockings in some of the sexy images for her nude V magazine shoot. Inside, her interview proved to be just as telling, as the model was interviewed by Tracee Ellis Ross about learning to love herself and the skin she’s in.

Ashley opened up about the first time she noticed her cellulite. “I remember my first signs of cellulite, in middle school. I remember telling my mom, “Isn’t it disgusting? It’s so ugly.” She pulled her pants down and said, “Look, I have it, too.” And I was like, “Gasp!” She looked at me, then at it, and just rolled her eyes. She didn’t tell me that it’s beautiful or ugly. She just made it a nonissue. It doesn’t define my worth. If women like you and me continue to preach that, then I feel like younger girls are going to grasp it and they’re going to be like, “Who cares!”

Although she said she can’t pinpoint a certain turning point in her career, her ability to persevere was integral in learning self-love. “It would be so much easier to be like, “This is the date, time, and experience I had,” but there really isn’t one. It was more about experiences in my life of devaluing the fact that I was an average, normal girl living in the city. But being told, “You’re fat,” “You’re ugly” or “You’re just not good enough,” and trying to live in these model standards, that was my normal. I think I hit bottom around 18. I was disgusted with myself and told my mom I was coming home. And she told me, “No, you’re not, because you told me that this was what you wanted and I know you’re supposed to do this. It doesn’t matter what you think about your body, because your body is supposed to change somebody’s life.” To this day that sticks with me because I’m here today and I feel that it’s okay to have cellulite,” she said.

For more on Ashley and Tracee, be sure to scoop up the magazine and check out Ashley’s book, New Model: What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like, when it launches on May 9.